For Sylvester, running a running store pays off

On May 25, the annual Runner's Alley/Redhook 5K race will benefit the Krempels Center, a Portsmouth nonprofit that improves the lives of people with brain injuries. It's one of many ways that Runner's Alley has established itself as a local institution since it opened 17 years ago on Congress Street.

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By Morey Stettner

seacoastonline.com

By Morey Stettner

Posted May. 1, 2014 at 2:00 AM

By Morey Stettner
Posted May. 1, 2014 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

On May 25, the annual Runner's Alley/Redhook 5K race will benefit the Krempels Center, a Portsmouth nonprofit that improves the lives of people with brain injuries. It's one of many ways that Runner's Alley has established itself as a local institution since it opened 17 years ago on Congress Street.

Jeanine Sylvester, 53, founded Runner's Alley in 1997 after a fateful trip to Denver awakened her entrepreneurial spirit. She runs three stores in New Hampshire with a fourth opening in Concord in May.

Question: What was your first job?

Sylvester: At 17, I started waitressing. I kept at it until I was 32 or 33 — down on the Cape, in Nashua where I grew up, at Horsefeathers in Dover. That's how I paid my way through college. And when my kids were little, it was convenient. My husband could work during the day and I could work at night.

Q: Did you dream of opening a store for runners?

Sylvester: I went to the University of New Hampshire for hospital administration and planning and then worked at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital. But I had a sense I wanted to do something on my own. When my husband had a business trip to Denver, I joined him. I went into a store in downtown Denver, Runners Roost. On the plane ride home, I told him, "If I ever did anything on my own, I'd do something like Runners Roost."

Q: So you opened a similar store in Portsmouth?

Sylvester: When I got home, my sister-in-law said, "There's some space downtown. You make great baked goods. You should open a store." I did enjoy baking. People called me "Betty Crocker." But I didn't want to open that kind of store. I kept thinking about Runners Roost. One thing led to another and we found space on Congress Street. We opened Runner's Alley on Market Square Day in 1997, six months after my Denver trip.

Q: Were you ready to run a retail store?

Sylvester: I had called Runners Roost, spoke with the manager and wound up spending two weeks out there in the store. I loved it. Still do.

Q: What do you love about it?

Sylvester: In a running store, your customers are your friends. You get to a point where you're not selling, you're helping people you care about reach their goals — like running in a 10K.

Q: Was your store a success from Day 1?

Sylvester: The first six to eight months were challenging. We'd sell four shoes in a day. But as word of mouth spread, sales picked up.

Q: What business lessons have you learned?

Sylvester: I've learned our staff is critical to our success. We're only as strong as our weakest employee, which is why we emphasize training and only hire people who plan on being in this business a long time. We never hire summer help because by the time we train them, it's time for them to go back to school.

Morey Stettner is author of "Skills for New Managers" (McGraw-Hill) and editor of Executive Leadership (www.execleadership.com).